


Unfolding the Creases of Sleep

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: DreamVerse [3]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 23:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2129085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fall out of the dreams continue, as J'onn reaches out to two of them, and the Titans tangle back into Slade's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfolding the Creases of Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Cherry-picked continuity and averting Crisis is the name of this game.

They were still en route when Dinah felt her phone buzz at her, and she shifted so that she could pull it free of her pocket. She opened it to read a text that sent her emotions spiralling right back into panic and anger and rage, even as she tried to figure out _how_ Roy could know.

[No, baby… no. I don't know how you know, but there is a hell of a lot involved and no. Not Oliver, not Hal, not me… just no.]

"Sister?" Slade asked, worried at the spike in her scent, though his gaze stayed on their route. 

Her phone promptly rang, Roy's number displaying, and her breath caught for a moment before she answered. "Boy-o?"

"Di?" Her boyo sounded scared as she'd ever heard him. "I -- tell me again?" 

"Oh boy-o." She shook her head at Slade, knowing he'd catch the motion by sound. "No idea how you know, but I promise you that Light is not … " She tried to find the words. "Did you have a nightmare?" she asked instead, as she tried to make sense of it. "Showing you something about Light and the League?"

"...yeah. I mean, that's not half of it, a quarter, but I -- I saw, GA _said_ \-- I don't understand, Di. You've always tried to watch out for us..." 

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Slade breathed, very quietly. "Oh, _fucking hell_." 

Dinah slipped a hand over onto his thigh, while trying to figure out how to handle this. "Roy, I'm trying to clean up another angle of that nightmare," she began, keeping her calm wrapped around her like a cloak. "But I swear to you on Lian's hair, I did not ever intend for that man to run free to haunt you kids, nor did I ever turn on one of my own. Neither did Oliver or Hal… and Hal is now very aware of the fact we three were manipulated to forget the whole event."

It was the only thing she could do, and not lose her control over her ragged emotions. She gave Roy what she hoped was enough to soothe him, and kept petting Slade's leg.

" -- to forget -- oh, thank _Gods_ ," Roy breathed out, his voice shaking. "Oh, thank _Gods_ , Di. I... when can you come?" 

She hesitated. Roy needed her… but he had Titans. Slade really only had her, given that Wintergreen apparently didn't much leave their home any more. "As soon as I finish what I am on, I am coming back to New York for you, boy-o. I promise." //Please let us find the bastard fast!//

"...okay, Di," he said after a few moments, his voice steadier but still shaken. "I -- can I put you on speaker, so everybody can hear it wasn't all true -- or at least that you got screwed up by her, too?" 

"What?" //How many people had the nightmare? Damn, I'm glad I didn't fall asleep on the plane.// "Sure, Boy-o… if you're vouching for whomever is there, I'll tell them what I can."

She shifted in her seat to get closer to Slade; this was going to be damn hard, depending on the accusations.

"Just Titans, Di," Roy said, his voice reassuring, and she heard the sound of him shifting around, and the click of the speaker going on. "Y'all -- _y'all_! So, I called Dinah --" his voice raised, cutting over the sudden, sharp-edged chatter, "and there's more to it than we got. 'Least, more than I did. Di?" 

//Oh, thanks boy-o.// "I didn't have the nightmare some of you must have, but Martian Manhunter got sicced on me to investigate this stuff -- and he wound up taking a lot of Zatanna's magic off of me. I haven't ever been able to remember why we needed to find that -- wait, is the baby there?" 

"Um, yeah," Roy said. "I kinda don't want to put her down much right now."

"Who can blame you?" came from Donna.

"We get it, Featherhead," Dick told his best friend, and Slade's whole body tensed at hearing the sound through Dinah's phone, and more at the tone.

"Oh, you -- " Roy shook his head, and hugged his daughter tighter. 

"Right. Then, find that bad man and make certain he could never get to any of you ki -- you Titans, _ever_. I'm... still pretty shakey, but there's part of this I have to go handle as soon as possible."

"...she made you forget?" Dick asked, and she could hear the blatant agony and need to believe in him. 

"She did, N. Not quite what she did to B, but... close enough. Little more twisted, though. I honestly don't know how, I didn't think her magic was capable of that kind of complexity -- guess she had more tricks than she let people know." It didn't really make sense. Everyone voting had reasons for the way they had gone, but what happened to BRUCE was the part she was honestly still seething over. 

"Oh she's had plenty of tricks all along," Donna snapped angrily. "But… it helps to think that you wouldn't have allowed such, when you have generally been a decent person despite being League," she added.

"Di, you're coming here soon, but what about Ollie?" Roy asked. "Or is that part of what Manhunter's doing?"

"I think he was pretty high on J'onn's list," Dinah said, trying to be soothing. There was something very personal, and very infuriated, in Donna's words, but she wasn't going to press at them, not yet. Not like this. She was pretty sure she knew what was first on J'onn's list, but she wasn't going to distress Slade or the Titans until they knew that Joey was really going to be all right. "What made you ask, boy-o?" 

"Because I needed to know if he's going to show up on the Island," Roy said, sighing. "Not usually welcome here, but…"

"We'd make the exception, Roy, given what it sounds like happened," Donna promised him.

"I don't know if this hit B yet, not even sure what to do," Dick muttered.

Slade glanced at his lover, hoping she'd know to convince Dick to try and stay put.

"Manhunter will take care of him, N. Do you want me to touch base with him and make sure? You -- don't get offended -- but you sound wrecked."

"That's one f -- one word for it," Roy said, his voice a low, flat growl that made the hair stand up on Dinah's arms. 

"Roy, I -- " 

"Don't, Robbie. .Just... don't. Hasn't happened, you don't get to apologize for shit that hasn't happened yet. Do you want Di to check?" 

"I... yeah. Please." 

Slade relaxed some at that, focusing more on the road again. He would get to his Kid as soon as he could.

"I've got it for you, N, I promise," Dinah told him. "Now, I've got to get my mind focused on this other thing; I promise we'll see you all soon," she said, not realizing her slip at first, and then she did, causing her to bite her lip.

Roy missed it, though, and just breathed a long sigh of relief. "See you then, Di."

"See you soon, boy-o, baby girl. The rest of you, too." Dinah agreed and hung up. She waited a moment, then breathed out a heavy sigh. "Oh thank goodness, he didn't catch that."

"One of the others might've, though," Slade said thoughtfully. "Not likely to be able to figure out you meant me, though. Huh. Tempest should be there before too long, he can tell them about those damned things." 

"And will; he tends to blunt as much as Arthur used to, from what Roy says," Dinah said with a warm sigh for her teammate. It… felt different. She could think of them with pride, as one of them, instead of fear and guilt that she'd never known she was carrying. She hoped they found Wade soon, to end this chapter. How in the hell a man who was that vicious had escaped death… he'd killed his own mother after all! The whole reason she refused to let Slade kill him was because… //Dinah Laurel, you are so dumb! You just talked to the Vengeance of God this morning; be smart!//

~Hera, Athena… for my aunt Hippolyta's sake PLEASE listen!~ She poured her heart into that as she realized she'd been going about this the wrong way all along.

"Generally," Slade agreed. Garth was fairly blunt about his opinions, most of the time. And he wouldn't be able to keep news about the damned spirits behind his teeth. Might keep Dinah's involvement out of it, but then again, he might not think to. Whatever. They'd deal with that when it came. Right now, there was a long flight, and then the hunt for his be-damned half-brother. 

She had to continue throwing her energy out into the aether for a while, repeating that prayer, before she got a sense of an answer, a wordless sense of curiosity and just a touch of amusement. 

~I won't let him be a kinslayer, because I believe, and he runs close to Donna, one of your own, but WHY is a man that killed his mother, caused so much turmoil near her, still alive and not answering Justice?~ Dinah demanded. ~It makes no sense that I have to protect one, when the other should have answered the Kindly Ones already!~

~Such a troublesome little bit,~ that answering presence said, but it was with the affectionate fondness of a mostly-indulgent mother, ~but a good girl. Who is this...person... that slew his mother?~ 

Dinah drew up the entirety of the debacle, both from Slade's POV and Roy's, when he was explaining to her who his new babysitter was. ~This… excrement is who I mean.~ She gave a solid visual on the man, as Slade had made certain she could identify Wade at a distance.

There were several moments of thoughtful silence, before she received the 'sense' of a nod. ~The Kindly Ones do not often act in the mortal world -- should they begin again, they would do nothing else... but this _is_ one whose life is already touched by Our hands. I shall present it to them.~

Dinah breathed out a sigh of relief. ~I am grateful that You listened, let alone that You may act.~ She let the lightest impression of a debt linger; it was best to not offend cosmic beings. ~You are still remembered,~ she added, recalling some of her aunt's sadder tales of those who were forgotten.

~Little one, you have a loud thought to you, and your outcry was not for yourself, but others. Either is rare in these days. Take care, little one. The Fates curse and struggle with their tapestry, and have been for a small while.~ 

~Thank you,~ Dinah sent before falling back fully into herself. Well, she was loud and always had been. She looked at Slade… but would he even believe in this, and accept the chance to go elsewhere? What if the Furies chose not to punish Wade, and they lost the lead?

What if they interfered too closely and the Furies had chosen to act?

"You smell nervous, sister. ...no, not quite nervous, edgy." Slade wasn't quite asking, trying to keep from prodding at things she wasn't ready to talk about, but it did worry him. 

"What if I told you that we'd be better off going on the New York, baby, and asked you to trust me on this?" she asked, not really wanting to risk him at all, but knowing she'd stolen some satisfaction from him by doing this.

He actually turned to look at her for a moment, his eye going narrow. "...I'd wonder what the hell you're thinking. Wonder a lot, actually. I trust you, but I can't let him get to my daughter again." 

"And I can't risk you to the ways of my Aunt's religion," she answered that, chin up, but voice soft. "Donna respects you. That puts you at risk for them interfering. Made worse by the fact _Circe_ likes you."

Slade blinked at her, once, twice... then he nodded slowly. "And Wade would fall under their justice, wouldn't he? You're _sure_ , Dinah?" 

"As sure as I can be. They may choose not to… but from the way my Aunt spoke of them, I can't see them doing that. And I was promised it would be told to them, Slade." She laced her fingers with his. "We have a trail now, if he eludes them, because you know where to start hunting. I just… I think it's safest if we not go near."

Slade's jaw ground as he turned that around and around in his head. He wanted to see Wade's corpse himself, wanted to _make_ his damned brother a corpse... but he hated torture, and Wade deserved worse than a clean kill. "We'll go check on the boys first. I'll convince Steel or Wintergreen to move Rose and her family, so they're not where he thinks they are." 

"Okay." //Good. I get to keep you safe, even if I did just steal something from you.// She tucked her feet under her. "If the boys weren't in trouble, I might not have pushed, Slade," she told him. "But I'd rather be there for them," //and you safe// "than chasing someone who has eluded us several times now that you thought he was in the same city."

Slade reached over, petting his hand down her arm, her thigh. "...I get that, sister. God, _Dick_... Have to get to them. And you have to get to Harper. Hmm. I wonder... who can I get to pay me for taking care of one of the things about to screw up his life," he murmured, half-idle. That had been part of harming the Kid, so he knew -- and it had given him enough strength to fight them, just for a moment. He'd heard about that slaving ring before, but now... now there was more than enough reason to go after them. 

Dinah bristled. "You told me he would get hurt but didn't give details… damn tempted to whistle up faster transport than commercial at this rate, Slade," she said at that threat to her boy. Roy was… near, dear, and forever part of her heart in ways that defied description.

"I just heard Troy's voice, so he's safe for a little bit, yet," Slade replied, his fingers stroking on her thigh again. "Doesn't happen until they lose her -- and if she is actually that damned dumb after she's been warned, I may _follow_ her down to the Underworld to kick the ever-loving hell out of her." 

That got a giggle out of her, and she nodded. "Okay, then we'll go the long way, and I'll nap en route." She was almost afraid to sleep, but she really needed it.

He nodded, shifting his grip to one that squeezed her hand gently. 

+++

Roy felt Lian squirming to get out of his arms not long after that call, and he knew he was being unreasonable, but … 

"Daddy, please," she said, and he had to give in, letting her go. Only the computer sounded with a low-alert, and he was scooping her back up.

"Wait," he said, forestalling her protest as they listened for the alert's explanation.

"Incoming teleport," the computer told them all. "Patterns confirmed; two Titans and one of their genetic extraction."

"Genetic… Tempest!" Donna shrieked, as she realized the only set of Titans that could be.

"Gillhead?" Roy yelped, staring at her. "What would -- never mind, I don't _care_ , the faster they get down here the better." 

"I'll go get them," Argent said, her silver skin still more the color of ash than its usual bright shade. "I'm fastest here." She suited deed to word and headed for the entrance as fast as she could push her powers to move her. 

Roy was fairly sure that one of the reasons she volunteered was to get away from the surreal sight of Nightwing curled in on himself, Donna sitting against his hip to try to soothe him, and his own unwillingness to let his daughter out of his reach. At least Lian hadn't had the nightmare. Nightmares. Robbie had. Donna hadn't. Wals wasn't here, but his comm was bouncing across a large section of central California, so they at least knew where he was. Vic was with him, must have caught the wildfires on the overnight news and volunteered, while Gar was en-route from his current Hollywood project. Gar didn't argue when Donna raised her voice. 

"Cerdian?" Lian asked.

"Yes, baby. We think so." Roy set her down on her own two feet, but ran a hand over her hair. "When they get here, if Dolphin says so, you can go with her and Cer to the pool room." It would be out of sight… but for all Dolphin's oddities, she was a hell of a protector.

"Okay." She then went over to Donna and Dick, forcing her way up into Dick's space to hug his neck.

"Hey, baby girl," Dick said softly, wrapping both arms around her, fingers tangling into her hair carefully for a moment. Maybe if he held her enough, felt her relax easy and trusting into his arms, he'd stop feeling the terror of her kidnapping, the helpless rage and fury of getting her back so badly hurt... maybe. 

"It's going to be okay," Lian told him, oh so seriously. She knew the adults were upset about Things To Come. But she'd seen a lot of movies and knew tomorrows weren't always the way you thought they were going to be. She nuzzled into his hold; maybe it would make him feel better like Daddy.

"Lian's right… bad as everything you two told me, we know," Donna said. "We just have to watch our actions, because we are inside of prophecy right now."

"Inside of _something_ , anyway," Dick said, Roy snorting wry agreement. 

Roy couldn't keep from running over where his people were in his head. Grant was up in the comm room, so he knew where the kid he'd tried to mentor was. Jesse had commed in, Kyle -- Donna was pretty sure Kyle was off planet, surely he would be okay until he came back. Donna'd commed to check on Mirage, she was okay. Jarras -- nobody knew where he was, but he was planets away from Earth, maybe entire sectors, and this had been mostly focused on Earth. //Donna taking so many of the tanks to deal with Rann and Thanagar;// he just wasn't thinking about that. He'd be okay. Jarras didn't fight anymore, he'd go to ground.

Imp had answered his comm -- second, maybe third thing he'd done -- with "IknowIknowIknow I'mgonnagogetRose, IknowIknowIknow, talktoyoulater -- YOUWATCHLIAN!" and promptly hung up again. That had twisted deep in his chest. 

They hadn't managed to get hold of Terra II yet, but she might put the battery back in it sometime soon. 

Lian escaped Dick just as they heard feet in the hall just before Garth stepped in, looking all around at his three oldest friends, surprised Wally wasn't with them after a minute.

"So you guys already know about the Spirits?" he asked in surprise, before ruffling Lian's hair as she shot around him to ask Dolphin if she could stay with her and Cer in the pool please please please.

" _Spirits_?!" 

All three of them had yelped almost at once, Dick lifting his head to stare at Garth while Donna shifted on the couch next to him, her eyes searching his face. Roy, for his part, was entirely sure that Garth sure as hell didn't mean anything good. 

"I'll take both children," Dolphin said on that note, dropping a hand to Lian and going to find the protected pool level. Garth nodded, then dropped into a chair facing the others in that den. 

"Martian Manhunter got me out of house arrest to go deal with a case of possession… and man, dealing with a dead body to boot is just weird, but he doesn't stay dead, so I just… fixed it." Garth looked at them all. "If you didn't know about them, why are you all here?"

"Wait _WHAT_?" Dick asked, staring at him, almost certain that he needed to go get in contact with Manhunter himself just to be sure Garth was still among the sane. "Back up about ten steps and explain what the hell you think we know, would you? As to why we're here, somebody's throwing around prophetic visions." 

Garth shook his head. "Prophecies are tricky." 

"I know," Donna said with an exasperated sigh.

"Anyway… like I said, Martian Manhunter needed a mage that… well, he put it as discreet, but it boiled down to 'Titan' because Wilson was the target." Garth shook his head. "No explosion in Buenos Aires, right? I was told it was going to be fine, but…"

"Haven't really been paying attention," Roy said and flipped his comm to call up to Grant. "Hey. Anything shaking in Buenos Aires?" 

"Nah, Chief. Just the usual major city crap," Grant replied, mostly light-toned but very alert. 

Dick's hands started to shake where they were open on his knees. He tried to concentrate on not letting them -- that wasn't working, though. Slade had been such a huge part of his nightmare, there over and over again, twisting and manipulating and _betraying_ him -- 

\-- and it hadn't really been him? He'd -- He'd been -- 

"Easy, Dick," Donna said, reaching and moving him into an easier hold so she could try and calm him back down. "That does actually make more of it all make sense, though. He's kept such a distance from us lately, but he's not actively wanted us as enemies for a while… mostly." That last was said with a look toward Roy.

He, at least, flushed a little for that all. "I remember too, Robbie… and he let me go. Remember that; he let me go, even under all that nasty," Roy told his best friend.

Garth shifted to rest a hand on Dick's arm. "Hey, Stoplight… he made someone kill him to make sure I could help him. So I'm thinking he knows everything you saw… and he's trying to fight it."

Dick tucked himself in against Donna's body, clinging hard to her shoulders, while he looked up at Garth. "He made -- He -- oh, _god_. Phone, phone," he muttered as explanation for why he was moving again, pulling his phone out of his boot. [Garth's here. He said -- Slade, I -- I don't -- Are you..] 

He didn't even know what he wanted to ask. Not really. Just -- Slade. 

[On my way, Kid. Breathe, goddamnit.]

That last was just too… Slade. Dick shook his head with a half hysterical chuckle, before showing it to Donna. "He's coming here," Dick said out loud.

Garth gave a very odd look at that, then shrugged. He was not about to spill the beans when Roy looked like he'd been fist to fin with a great white. And everyone knew Roy wasn't the best at hand to hand. "See?" he said instead.

"Yeah," Dick said, still shaking his head. "I -- God, he." He coughed, shook his head, started over. "You said the Spirits, and that he made someone kill him so that he'd be there when you got there to help Manhunter. ...Manhunter. That's what pulled Canary into this? She said she hadn't _had_ the nightmare..."

Roy blinked… and then all focus was on him as he started with "She's damned… " and went from there into bad border-Mexican tinged with a multitude of Dineh phrases. Garth waited for him to wind down, then shrugged a shoulder at him when Roy stopped to take a breath. 

"She seemed to be really damned worried about it all," Garth said, just to see if he could wind Roy up again.

Roy picked up the nearest pillow and smacked Garth with it, hard, going back off into more profanity, interspersed with "We! She -- 'we' -- oh fuck it all -- " 

"Roy." Dick said it quiet, but sharp. " _Arsenal_!" 

"What!?" 

"Yes, she's nuts. Yes, I know what they've been up to. But she called Martian Manhunter for him... and I'm... more than a little worried about how badly he's probably taken being turned against a partner because of lies." 

Thinking about Slade was so much easier than looking at the memory-wreckage of his own life. 

"Point," Roy conceded, but it was barely civil.

"One more point of insurance on your life at least," Donna reminded him.

Garth made a throat clearing at that. "More… but I'm not sure if anyone told him, given the whole dead thing before I left. But… did any of you stop and think about how those things got into him?"

"Garth, I'm barely hanging on to my own brain, let alone trying to deal with what you're throwing at me. No, I hadn't gotten that far yet. What do you mean, 'more'?" 

Donna, however, went tense all over. She wrapped her arms around Dick, holding him there, but stretched a foot out to rest it on Roy's thigh. "He… he did make contact?" Donna asked in a breathless rush of words.

"Martian Manhunter had to protect him, draw him out while I took care of those," Garth answered softly.

Roy looked from Donna to Garth, going slowly more pale as the words sank in. "...Jericho?"

Garth nodded. "Manhunter said he was going to go to Dr. Fate, to make sure that he got taken care of right. He -- he said he's still alive, since he wasn't... in it... when -- " 

"You don't have to say it," Roy cut him off, but he was relaxing all over. Saying the names of the missing was nothing like saying the names of the dead. If Joe wasn't dead... 

"We…" Donna began, shaking her head, hardly believing it.

"Are getting one of ours back," Garth finished for her. "Manhunter's pretty cool, by the way. I'd work with him again."

"Good to know," Dick said quietly, watching Garth's face. "We... may really need that. Depending. ...wait. If they're together..." He flipped his phone back into his hand and tapped out Slade's number, calling this time.

It picked up on second ring, noise from an airport in the background. "Kid, I told you to breathe," Slade rumbled irritably at him. "Plans have changed, so I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought."

"Am breathing. Was going to offer to send Donna with the Pequod, but if you two're just determined to travel commercial from Buenos Aires, never mind me...." Dick let the words drop off.

Slade snorted at the Kid, but it felt… right to get assistance this time. He needed to be there as fast as he could. "Send Troy on down… it'll give me time to bitch her out about her dreamself."

Shock pushed a shaky laugh out of Dick's lungs, and he relaxed a little. "Alright. See you in a couple hours, Slade. Donna -- "

"Going, Stoplight, going," Donna answered, rolling her eyes at him.

+++

J'onn realized he'd killed all of the chocolates Slade Wilson had provided him by the time he finished in New York with Dr. Fate. Establishing the rapport with the Helmet so that Joey did not have to tax his powers had, unfortunately, betrayed the pain and trauma of healing Dinah's mind.

Perhaps, in the long run, it was better to have already passed on that side of the investigation. Nabu himself, echoed by Kent Nelson, had assured J'onn the Sentinels would take Zatanna to task over the breach of ethics. Nabu had allowed for the possibility of outside influence when J'onn's sense of fairness kicked in to point up it had seemed out of the ordinary.

Now, however, J'onn had to reach both Oliver and Bruce in as timely a fashion as possible.

~Bruce, are you awake yet?~

~I am now,~ Bruce answered after a moment, a little sleepily but already alert. ~What's wrong?~

J'onn did not even try to deny that there was something wrong. ~I need to help you and Oliver both. May I acquire you, and then take you to him? It is best done swiftly, before the Sentinels of Magic move on the culprit.~ He let the impression of personal betrayals, of ethics broken and left smashed on the floor float behind those words.

~You don't say 'need' lightly.~ There were several options for them to reach Oliver: J'onn to teleport down, then Bat-jet or personal jet if it was better for Bruce Wayne to be in Star City than Batman to, Batman to teleport up and then back down... but J'onn felt slightly reluctant to have him on the Watchtower, unless he was misreading... ~I'll meet you.~

~Thank you. I will set a Monitor schedule and go,~ J'onn said. ~I am certain I will not be available for some time.~ He wanted to leave the Watch Tower in good hands, all people he was certain he could trust because they were … more simple. Booster, Beetle, Fire… he started contacting them, and even Guy, to make sure the Monitors would never be left alone.

Bruce got up and moving, more concerned by those last words than he really wanted to show. What had happened to Oliver? ...to him?

By the time J'onn reached Star City, he was certain the League was in as good a set of hands as he could manage. Funny how it seemed that he often came back to the problem-child team for the heavier work of keeping things moving. None of them were of the power ability as the current League field team, and yet J'onn had more faith in their ability to react and contain. Especially, he realized, in the light of Zatanna's betrayal. Was it because none of them had ever done much with Zatanna beyond ogle her?

Bruce moved swiftly in his dressing-gown, Alfred appearing within moments -- how did the man do it? -- before he even reached the entrance to the Cave. Alfred would take care of his schedule for the day, while Batman got to Star City as quickly as the fastest of his jets could fly. J'onn would likely still beat him there, unless there was trouble setting the schedule, but he would be quick about it, and he was. 

Parking a Bat-jet in Star City was always interesting, but he managed it quickly enough. ~I am here, J'onn... are you?~

~Yes. Where… ah, yes, that is a good place to tuck your jet at.~ J'onn pulled the information from the public mind, and let Bruce know he was en route. ~Stay there; I think Oliver will be easier to contend with if I have already unlocked the incident for you. He listens to you.~

//Unlocked the incident... what?//

Those were far, far from comforting words, and while he hid the jet and waited a few moments for J'onn, he tried to search through his mind, looking for anything that would align with J'onn's concerns. Something that affected he and Oliver both -- had to be a very, very long time ago. Perhaps even before Oliver's death?.

J'onn touched down not long after that contact, and he breathed out a deep sigh of relief to be in Bruce's calmer presence again. "It has been an eventful morning." 

"...you look like it," Batman said after a moment to look at his long-time friend. He was incredibly concerned, for Oliver and for himself, but... J'onn had always been a friend and ally, even when he had not particularly deserved it. He trusted J'onn. "Should we find a more comfortable place?"

"Perhaps that would be wise, but I do not want to confront Oliver before you," J'onn said. "It was difficult enough with Dinah… and I had already acquired her consent."

His tone left it very apparent that the consent had not been helpful in the long run.

"Dinah?" Batman's eyes narrowed beneath the cowl, concern slicing down through him. She'd gone so far away, but she was still... He shook his head a little. Dinah was fine, or J'onn would not have left her. "Somewhere less sunny, at least, but all right. Whatever you need to do, I understand."

"Deities forbid the Batman be exposed to sunlight for too long," J'onn managed, just to show he did have a grip on his sense of humor despite everything. He lifted Bruce up, and took them discreetly to a nearby hotel and 'borrowed' a room that would not be cleaned for some time yet. It did not look worse for wear from the last occupant, and would do for privacy.

It did gain him a wry, amused snort, and then Batman glanced around the room. It was suitable enough, and he settled into the room's desk chair, turning it around to watch J'onn. He could still find nothing in his mind that should give rise to J'onn's concern... which made him even more uneasy. For a moment he even wondered if the trouble was within J'onn -- but no. That was unworthy of his friend, and of him. He stretched out a hand, offering that easier connection. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to focus on Sue Dibny, a long time ago, not long past her marriage to Ralph," J'onn said, accepting the hand. "Think on her, strongly, and I will find the hole," he told his friend.

J'onn was already threading himself into Bruce's mind… and as he suspected, Zatanna's magic was having to tread far lighter in its defense of the secret. The magic had adapted to each host. In Dinah, the guilt had been overpowering. J'onn was willing to bet it had undercut Oliver's confidence this whole time, and likely it had preyed on Hal's sense of self as the shining white knight.

"Sue?"

That startled him and worried him, he'd known Sue for decades, and she was always a joy to be around. What could Sue have to do with a hole in his memories?

A hole. In _his_ memories. Something he'd forgotten -- been made to forget?

//What was I doing?// flashed through his mind, a moment standing near the teleporters, unable to remember why he had been walking towards or away from them. A moment's lapse in concentration... but had it been? J'onn had been gone, then.

J'onn sent Bruce a wave of pride and joy and gratitude. ~I knew you could not be made to forget it all! Thank you, friend, for this is where it begins… in one perspective.~ The Martian worried at the magic that tied it all closed at this point, trying to get at the time that had been stolen. From Batman becoming aware of the distress call to the trip up… yes, there. He had it and was careful to unfold the events slowly. He made certain Bruce saw his friends' faces, so he would understand. ~You wish to know what was happening… and you should know it. Probably before we go to Oliver.~

He reached out, touching Dinah's mind briefly with a request… and she quickly gave it. As he pulled away from her, he began to unfold the entire tragedy for Bruce, as seen through Dinah's eyes, so that Bruce had the context for why J'onn had stirred this particular can of worms so thoroughly.

There was no one here but J'onn, and Bruce didn't try to fight the tremors that started early in Dinah's memories and grew to full-body shakes before they reached the point of his own appearance there. Dinah's relief and faith rocked him almost more than the horrific events, and he was glad he was already sitting down. How -- how could Zatanna --

~I thought she was my friend...~ escaped his mind, though not his lips. ~I don't understand.~

~Nor do I, Bruce. Perhaps, in the end, we will discover a reason, but for now… I must fix the damages done.~ J'onn moved close enough to wrap both his larger hands around Bruce's, offering solace and comfort… scant though it was… against the horror.

Bruce pressed into that grasp, leaning forward enough to rest his forehead against J'onn's mid-chest, trying to pull his mind away from the betrayal he felt and focus instead on the others that had been harmed. ~Those were Dinah's memories... is she... stable? And I understand now, why you wanted my help with Oliver. He -- he's not going to take this at all well.~

~No, he will not. But I left Dinah with both a task or three to do, and her own support,~ J'onn reassured. ~There are major things happening, of which at least one ally was made aware. He called my attention to this matter, and placed trust in my ability to see it worked out.~

//Major things happening?// That concerned him, greatly, but at least Dinah was occupied and supported while she came to terms -- if she could -- with what had happened all those years ago. ~J'onn... Sue and Ralph? What should be done for them?~ 

J'onn had to squeeze Bruce's hands at that. ~I will reinforce what Dinah insisted be done. For there is no justice or peace in making them know it now.~ J'onn was confident the Spectre would finish off Light, but Sue… did not need to remember this so suddenly. Nor Ralph, given how devoted to her he was.

Bruce thought about that for a few moments, then nodded. ~I... that is the only kind thing to do in this, I think,~ he finally said, slowly. ~All right. I'll help you with Oliver.~

~Good. Because it's now apparent that this spell is what increased certain distrusts, and kept them at arms' distance from me,~ J'onn said with a sigh. He let go and stood up, centering back inside his own mind.

~Very obvious,~ Bruce agreed after a heartbeat, about the distance that had grown between them. //They _left_ \-- no. They were _made_ to leave,// he told himself sternly, and felt the edges of a smile on his lips. They hadn't just left. They'd been pushed. He got back to his own feet so that J'onn could get them headed on their way. 

J'onn noted the slight shift in Bruce's perceptions, and was relieved. If there could be a silver lining to this, let it be that his friends would have each other to call on again.

++++

Oliver looked at the noisy buzzing thing he'd picked up by instinct, barely making sense of the fact it wanted his attention. A piece of his brain made out that the time displayed was most definitely less than an hour after he'd called it quits on a night that had included a major drug bust. Another part of his brain actually read the text message.

[Wake up. Come downstairs.]

//Gotta still be dreaming.// There was no way in hell Bruce was in his home, let alone making demands against his sleep. He dropped the phone on the covers and tried to fall back into happier dreams, ones where he and Hal were still tight, or his Pretty Bird could forgive him for being a jackass.

About the time that he was convinced that he was still asleep, just dreaming strangely, his phone went off again. [Wake up, Oliver. Come down here.]

"What the …."

Blinking blearily, Oliver pushed himself out from under the covers, stared at the texts, then sighed. A pair of pants… and to hell if he was putting on a shirt again. 

[Better be Darkseid.] He padded, none too quietly, toward the door to see Connor sticking his head out. "Do you ever sleep?" Ollie demanded, noting his son looked as ready to go now as he had twelve hours ago.

"Of course I sleep. What's wrong, Father?" 

"Just pointy-eared company," he replied, "don't worry about it. Go on and get some rest." 

Connor thought a moment, realized who that must be since he'd had no alarm from the sanctum, and shook his head. "I thought Bats were nocturnal," he said with as straight a face as Eddie on poker-night.

Ollie snorted, applauding quietly for a moment. "Maybe he's running away from the sun? It's not actually up here yet..." 

One noise or the other drew Mia sticking her head out the door, glaring at both of them. "I swear you said _sleep _!"__

__"I did. And now Batman's in the basement. Go back to bed, Mia."_ _

__"I thought they stayed in belfrys," Mia muttered before yawning. Connor brought his hand up to smother his laugh, before turning to go back to bed, much as Mia was._ _

__Oliver cracked up at that one, then headed downstairs. He considered coffee, but there was possibly still a cup in the pot down below. He pushed through the cellar into the sanctum… and saw not just Batman but Martian Manhunter._ _

__"So I get creepy and kooky?" he asked, making a beeline for the lukewarm cup of coffee calling his name._ _

__"...have you been watching Addams Family reruns again?" Batman asked, watching Oliver head straight towards the coffee with a mildly amused quirk of his mouth._ _

__"Couldn't let the kids one-up me." Ollie looked over at J'onn giving him a nod of greeting. He then noticed Bruce's inquisitive pose. "Connor mentioned thinking bats were nocturnal. Then Mia proved she's a Speedy with bats belonging in belfrys, not basements."_ _

__"...so she is," Bruce agreed, amused almost despite himself. "I'd apologize for waking you if I hadn't gotten the same treatment."_ _

__"I do apologize," J'onn said in a low rumble. "But matters like this cannot wait. I feared how the Sentinels would have managed it."_ _

__"Sentinels? Of Magic?" Ollie's nerves pricked a little at that. "Look, it's not like I had a whole hell of a lot of choice once the Spectre twisted my arm about the empty body. I did say 'no' at first!"_ _

__"Oliver, that's not what this is about," Bruce said, steady and as easy as he could. "You're back, intact, and the Sentinels have no further interest -- at least, according to Jason. J'onn got tipped off to some old business that they have an interest in."_ _

__"Why call on me, then? About as magical as a rock, outside of Hal messing with what was right," Ollie grumped._ _

__"Because you were there, and you were one of the victims, before you died," J'onn told him._ _

__That got Ollie looking at him a long moment, sipping the coffee, as his hackles rose with … fear? Guilt? Why was he afraid, and what did he have to be guilty about that hadn't already aired as dirty laundry?_ _

__Bruce saw the shift in Oliver's body language, and his jaw locked tight for a moment at the sight of Oliver afraid and guilty. Zatanna would be dealt with, J'onn promised she would be dealt with, and it was definitely best if he stayed far from that anyway... but he _hated_ seeing Oliver like this. "Oliver," he said, aiming for calm and steady, "that mess in your head, it's not you. It's magic. Let J'onn help you." _ _

__"Don't have anything…" came to his lips, even as he felt like his brain was telling him to send them far away. Ollie was afraid, afraid of them knowing, of seeing what he did… but what did he do?!_ _

__"Oliver, I already helped Dinah see the truth," J'onn told him. "She told me I had to get to the bottom of what happened." It wasn't exactly what had been said when he tricked her into consent… but his suspicions had proven correct, and she never could have consented after knowing she was part of it._ _

__Bruce stayed silent, but he moved carefully towards Oliver, watching that unhappy, uneasy body language. He reached out once he was close, laying his hand behind his side._ _

__Oliver half-shied away from him, but he was watching J'onn. Dinah? Dinah had -- but why would she -- "I don't.. J'onn, I was dead, how could there be anything in my head still?"_ _

__"Ask that of Hal, for had he known clearly, I believe the Spectre would have already acted decisively against those at fault." J'onn did not move more than to lay his hands out, open, on the small table beside Oliver's place. "I will not force this… as Dinah is no longer the one to consent for you when you may not." His open hands, though, waited, to see if Oliver, such a physical man, could bypass the geas long enough to take one of them._ _

__Oliver blinked at him, cocking his head... and then Bruce nudged at his spine, gentle shift of his hand. He half wanted to balk, but no, Bruce was worried //shouldn't be -- the *fuck?!*// and he lunged out enough to catch J'onn's hands. J'onn seized the opportunity to push into Oliver's mind… less natural shielding than Dinah, though he had learned the rudiments J'onn had taught all that early League._ _

__~I have you, I am here, I will fix this, Oliver,~ J'onn promised him, diving deeper, shoving at the magic trying to cut him off. He whispered, in the mindscape, Sue's name, and let the echoes as well as the tightening defenses around him lead him to the spot._ _

__//Sue?/ /Oliver shifted his weight, half pulling-back from J'onn, but Bruce was right there behind him. Sue, what about -- /Sue, bleeding and broken-eyed, bruises everywhere.../_ _

__//*What?!*// He jerked, tossing his head, and then J'onn had memories _he_ couldn't even touch and was working at them, pulling them out.. ~Oh, God, J'onn, I don't -- I -- we let this *go*?~_ _

__Fury and shame washed through him in an ugly flood, trying to make him pull back, pull away..._ _

__~You had no choice in the matter, Oliver,~ J'onn said sadly. ~She hid the truth, made you part of her guilt, and then would not even give you the chance to fix it,~ he soothed as he worked faster to destroy all the blocks, and restore the true memories. How had Zatanna's spell been so thorough and guided?! That hung in J'onn's mind, a point he would try to remember to mention to a Sentinel._ _

__Oliver wasn't sure he believed that... and then J'onn was showing him the truth and he started to shake. ~I... I -- God, no... no wonder we left, I -- ~_ _

__~None of you trusted yourselves, let alone others, once your friend had been harmed by her,~ J'onn agreed. ~The Sentinels will deal with her, and the Spectre was to be told. So you can concentrate on healing.~_ _

__~The... okay, J'onn. I -- my head hurts, and I _really_ want to sit down,~ Oliver said across that link, feeling J'onn's touch... recede, somehow, just a little. Best to sit before he found himself on the basement floor._ _

__Bruce was right there, though… and yet the solid wall of the Bat was in motion with him, helping Oliver reach the seat, staying close. Silent conversation of the eyes between alien and vigilante, before J'onn said out loud. "I need to go and take care of other threads from this. If you need me, I am only a call away."_ _

__"I know," Bruce told him softly, before focusing solely on Oliver._ _

__Bruce was there, and Oliver caught that conversation... but mostly the horror and rage and shock warring through his head had all of his attention, and he barely knew it when he dropped his head into his hands and the tears started, nearly ripping their way out of him --_ _

__He didn't try to fight them. He felt the heavy weight of the cape drape behind his back, and some of the tense muscles along his spine relaxed._ _

__He knew Bruce wouldn't judge him for this. He knew he could just let it go. He didn't expect to be coddled, but he needed time to let the pain of it escape._ _

__When he could finally talk, his voice was gruff and thick with the tears. "The kids… wait, Spectre…. they'll be safe?"_ _

__"They'll be safe," Bruce agreed, his hand sliding down to rest on Oliver's shoulder, inside the drape of his cape. Oliver's ability to just let go, to let the emotions take over and tear their way out, the way he wore his heart on his sleeve, so easy for anyone to see -- so different, and he'd missed being close enough to see that openness. Nothing he could do, and he hated the reasons... but he'd missed his friend. "They'll be just fine."_ _

__"And Dinah's really safe?" he asked, worried about her. She'd always been as volatile as he was, and it had made them a solid team, even outside of their tempestuous relationship. "She's got to be taking this hard."_ _

__"J'onn said she was in the best hands she can be," Bruce answered, hand squeezing his shoulder again._ _

__"Went to Roy then, I bet." Oliver sagged into Bruce at that… and there was a hint of a deliberate press of contact there. He wanted his friend back, but Oliver had never been one to shy from all he wanted. If Bruce ignored it… they were still friends. If not, life might be better._ _

__"Probably," Bruce agreed quietly, before the shift of Oliver's body demanded his attention. His hand tightened before he entirely knew he was reacting, and he shifted just a little closer. What in the hell did he think he was doing, a cynical part of his mind demanded to know, while most of the rest of him told it to go jump off a cliff. He knew Oliver was alone except for Connor and Mia, that things between he and Dinah had finally blown up for good, and Hal... well, Hal was the Spectre. He moved again, just that little bit more into Oliver's space._ _

__That was all it took, and Bruce learned that Oliver still had the same coping methods as he went upstairs to leave Connor a message that he'd be out most of the day._ _


End file.
